Subject: Italian Insect Question
Geographic location of the bug: Albenga, Italy (Liguria)
Date: 04/15/2019
Time: 10:50 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Dear Bugman,
I now live in Italy and am having a difficult time finding a good resource to answer insect questions.
Today (April 15), I stumbled upon this curious critter chowing down or sleeping in thistle. I even tried to lift her body a little to get a better photo, but she was really locked into that place. Looking closely, I see hairs all over her body including a thicker patch on the underside. Is this some kind of hairy beetle? Yelp!
Thanks in advance for your wisdom. I would love to know a good go-to place to answer my insect questions. I’m seeing some beautiful beings here I’d like to identify.
How you want your letter signed: Kenda
Dear Kenda,
This is indeed a hairy Beetle. We are relatively certain it is a White-Spotted Rose Beetle, which we identified on RawBirds.com where it states: “The White Spotted Rose Beetle (Oxythyrea funesta) is plant eating (phytophagous) beetle in the family Cetonidaewhich is in the genus Oxythyrea. It is also known as The Mediterranean Spotted Chafer. Over wintering larvae, which feed on plant roots, emerge as beetles in late Spring. They feed on the flowers of a wide variety of plants up until early Autumn.” This image on Insecta.Pro nicely illustrates the hair that covers the body.
Thank you very much Daniel! I really appreciate your knowledge and assistance! Do you recommend I use the Rawbirds.com site as my go-to site despite the fact they don’t specifically focus on Italy or is there a more Italy-specific site I can rely on?
Grazie mille,
Kenda
Hi Kenda,
Unfortunately, we have no recommendation for a good site for the average person to use to identify Italian insects.